One Good Question a Day

A place for philosophical questions brought up by everyday experiences.  Answers and submissions welcome. The questions are sincere; they are not meant to be rhetorical or instructive.

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Justice

Is justice an arrangement between particular individuals or a quality of a system or institution?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Affirmation

Is affirmation a necessary element in a relationship? (Does connection require a degree of affirmation? If so, how much?)

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Time

Are there ways in which time is not a resource in the same way that money or material objects are?

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Re: Choices and Decisions

Is there a substantive difference between a choice and decision?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Help

Is saying that you will help someone in a greater way later a sufficient reason for not helping them in the moment?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Partiality

Does partiality for those that are close to you conflict with the ideal of universal benevolence?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Voting

Is voting with your dollar a challenge to traditional voting?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Objectification

Does sexual attraction always involve some level of objectification?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Addiction

is there a moral failing, by the addicted or anyone else, involved in clinically diagnosed addiction?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Internet

Is the internet more like a utility such as electricity or more like a commodity means of communication?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Privacy

Is privacy a cultural norm, or a human right?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Merit

Is the high relative importance of networking in finding employment an impediment to meritocracy?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Sacrifice

Does altruistic self-sacrifice carry more moral weight than an act of altruism that is not self-sacrificing?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Animals

Why do animal rights activists emphasize suffering when harm, not suffering in and of itself, is typically the basis for ethical considerations involving humans?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Failure

Is failure in and of itself morally problematic or is it contextual either completely or to some degree?

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Identity

To what extent is consciousness distinct from identity? 

[philosophicalqotd]

Re: Meaning

If there is a distinction between meaning and meaningfulness, what is that difference?